• Episode 22: Rabbi Yitzchak Breitowitz "Torah in a Modern Age" (Part 3 of 5)

• In this episode, Rabbi Breitowitz shares his insights on the ethics of separating the art from the artist (as in the most recent case with Chaim Walder), the miraculous existence and success of modern-day Israel: The Haredi argument against Zionism vs the argument for post-facto religious Zionism, the purpose of prayer since we can't change God's mind and the superstitious elements that some Jews use to "close the gap" (e.g. saying a "mystical" formulation for 40 days by the Kotel, etc.), the recent dogmatic "Daas Torah" rejection of metaphoric readings of certain parts in the Torah (e.g. Rambam, Sforno, Radaq, and Ralbag interpreted some or all of the Genesis narrative to be allegorical, Ibn Casspi said the entire book of Yonah was a vision, Rambam said any story mentioning angels is a vision, Chazal believing Iyyov wasn't a real person, etc.), and the hottest topic of late, the Torah view of abortion.

• FYI: WE SPLIT UP THE VIDEO VERSION OF THE PODCAST INTO CLIPS (BY TOPIC), SO IF YOU WANT TO VIEW THE *FULL* EPISODE IN SEQUENTIAL ORDER CLICK HERE:

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• IF YOU PREFER TO LISTEN TO THE FULL AUDIO VERSION (WHICH INCLUDES AN INTRO), CLICK HERE:

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• Bio: Rabbi Breitowitz's scope of knowledge, brilliance, as well as a unique ability to grasp complicated material and communicate it clearly to others is legendary. Rabbi Breitowitz received his Bachelor of Arts from Johns Hopkins University and obtained semicha from Ner Israel Rabbinical College. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School and shortly thereafter became the Rav of the Silver Spring Woodside Shule in Silver Spring Maryland while maintaining status as a tenured professor at the University of Maryland School of Law. Rabbi Breitowitz and his wife currently reside in Eretz Yisroel and is a Rav in Ohr Sameach in Jerusalem. He has published widely on Jewish law and ethics. Among his articles are those on the right to die, physician assisted suicide, brain death, the status of frozen embryos, the desecration of ancient burial sites through archaeological excavations, business ethics, shalom bayit and spousal abuse. His major work, Between Religious and Secular Law: The Plight of the Agunah (Greenwood Press,1993) is a comprehensive and far-reaching study of one of the most complex issues of Jewish family law. As Educational Consultant to the Atlantic Seaboard Region of National Council of Synagogue Youth (NCSY), he compiled several sourcebooks on a variety of topics. He has achieved religious and secular scholarship, nationally and internationally. Within a general culture that questions the role of religion in modern life, Rabbi Breitowitz has the exceptional ability to show the relevance of halachic categories and Jewish values in dealing with contemporary problems ranging from cloning to giving up land for peace.

• Learn more about Rabbi Breitowitz on his website: [ Ссылка ]

• Welcome to JUDAISM DEMYSTIFIED: A PODCAST FOR THE PERPLEXED | Co-hosted by Benjy & Benzi | Conversations with renowned figures (of various academic disciplines) about topics that aren't part of mainstream Orthodox curriculum. We don't claim to know all the answers, but we aim to ask all the big questions! We welcome your topic and guest suggestions so please follow us on Instagram [ Ссылка ] (DM for inquiries) and share our content with those you feel would be interested or benefit from our podcast. Please SUBSCRIBE to this YouTube Channel and hit the BELL so you can get alerted whenever new clips get posted, thank you for your support!

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